“In the visit, Turkey-Iraq relations and current regional and global developments will be discussed,” Fahrettin Altun, head of communications for the Turkish presidency, said on X, adding that bilateral documents “aiming for cooperation in various areas” will be signed.
Iraqi and Turkish authorities have previously announced that Sudani is scheduled to visit Turkey on May 8 to attend the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting.
Both Erdogan and Sudani are set to chair a meeting of the bilateral council during the visit, according to the Turkish presidency.
“We believe that with Mr. Sudani’s visit, deep-rooted Turkiye-Iraq relations will be strengthened in many areas,” Altun said.
Sudani last met Erdogan in November, during a one-day visit to Istanbul where bilateral relations, regional developments, and ways to activate joint memorandums of understanding were discussed.
In September, the two leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
A high-level Iraqi and Turkish delegation met on April on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, headed by Foreign Ministers Fuad Hussein and Hakan Fidan respectively, to discuss the implementation of Baghdad’s decision to designate the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a banned organization.
In March 2024, Baghdad banned the PKK, a move welcomed by Turkey. However, despite pressure from Ankara, Iraq has not designated the group as a terrorist organization.
In April 2024, Sudani and Erdogan signed a multi-billion-dollar strategic water agreement. The Iraqi premier stated at the time that the pact includes joint projects to improve water management on the Tigris and Euphrates, and it will remain valid for 10 years from implementation.
